Preside over the Meeting

Once you are in a meeting, it is the responsibility of the chair, or their designee, to preside over the meeting.

Preside is, for the most part, a fancy word for lead.

The person presiding over the meeting leads the meeting and makes sure that the committee efficiently tackles all the items on the agenda, hears from everyone who wants to participate, and guides the committee to make decisions.

Remember, an NC committee cannot do anything on its own; it can only recommend actions to the NC board. The more voices that are included in those recommendations, the more likely the board is to act on them.

Parliamentary procedure, such as defined by Robert’s Rules of Order, provides a very complete framework for leading these meetings. However, most committees are small and do not need that level of formality.